Case Study

Medical Technology/ Consumer Centricity

It’s All About the Consumer

Why Making Medical Technology More Human Is Good for Business

Situation
One of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of innovative medical devices for the treatment of chronic disease wanted to gain better insights into how patients interacted with the company’s products. What aspects of the patient’s experience could be improved? Should devices be overhauled to reflect the patient’s perspective? The $16 billion company believed that by answering questions like these it would continue to deliver innovative products and stay ahead of the competition. To lead this consumer-focused initiative, the company committed itself to hiring a Chief Patient Officer to provide a comprehensive and nuanced view of the patient experience. The knowledge and insights gleaned by this executive would inform and improve everything from marketing to product development and from operations to corporate strategy.

Approach
The company engaged Egon Zehnder to identify and assess executives who possessed proven strategic ability, a consumer-focused background, and skill at using data and research to analyze and solve problems. It was also important to the client that candidates would have proven ability in championing initiatives and influencing decisions across a global organization. Our team systematically mapped companies across a wide range of sectors, including health and wellness, technology, retail, hospitality, consumer packaged goods, and many others. The result was a slate of candidates from several brand-name organizations who were enthusiastic about taking their consumer-focused skills to the world of healthcare.

Outcome
Following a thorough search across numerous industry segments, Egon Zehnder identified a Chief Patient Officer from the technology sector. This executive had extensive experience in building customer insights and brand strategy groups at her previous company. She also had personal experience with the chronic disease that is the focus of her new employer’s innovative solutions. Her unique combination of professional and personal experience has brought unanticipated benefits. The executive has paired solid business-grounded insights with the ability to articulate the patient experience across the most senior levels of the company.